INFO BURST

Format: Comic strip
Initial Release Date: 25/12/93
Feature character: Miles “Tails” Prower
Villain: Trogg
Other Characters: Sonic the Hedgehog, Grey Enchanter King, Red Enchanter King, Errol Blackthorn
Locations: Mobius, West Side Island, Emerald Hill Zone, Nameless Zone, The Enchanter Kings’ Inner Sanctum, Dimension Bridge
Items: Tails’ Battle Armour
Continuity: Sonic the Comic
Synopsis: In the Emerald Hill Zone, Sonic becomes exasperated at Tails slowing him down and tells him to let stay out of his way for once, heading off to an adventure on his own. Tails bemoans being left behind, acknowledging he’s made mistakes in the past but wishing Sonic would give him another chance. Without warning, a green portal opens in the sky and Tails recognises it as the portal to the Nameless Zone. Reluctantly, Tails steps inside and finds himself in the Inner Sanctum of the Nameless Zone’s Enchanter Kings, who summoned him… and welcome him back to his home Zone! The Enchanter Kings have heard tales of Tails’ great deeds on Mobius through his letters home to his family… letters in which Tails greatly embellished the truth, claiming he defeated Doctor Robotnik with his sidekick Sonic! Unfortunately, Tails’ attempts to come clean fall on deaf ears as the Enchanter Kings believe he is just being humble. The Enchanter Kings give Tails some enchanted Battle Armour, which weighs no more than a feather when worn. Elsewhere, at the edge of the Nameless Zone, a bridge is being guarded by warriors of the Zone as a terrible berserker awaits the arrival of the Zone’s champion.

As it turns out, Tails is the Zone’s champion, chosen to defend the Dimension Bridge from the berserker, whose name is Trogg. Trogg intends to lead his army into the Nameless Zone, but an enchantment prevents him from entering unless he can defeat the Nameless Zone’s champion. Tails is nervous and no match for Trogg in combat, easily defeated by him, with the fox’s tiny sword unable to make a dent in Trogg’s armour – though the same can’t be said for the rope holding up the Dimension Bridge. As Trogg swings down with a killing blow, the rope snaps and both Trogg and Tails are sent hurtling downwards. Trogg manages to hold onto the dangling rope and initially believes Tails to have fallen to his doom – only to be surprised to find Tails can fly and his little sword is more than enough to cut Trogg’s rope, leading to Tails forcing a surrender from the berserker. Tails is congratulated for a job well done but can’t stop to celebrate for long as the portal back to Mobius begins to fade. Rather than risk being stuck in the Nameless Zone forever, Tails takes his leave and returns home – though his Battle Armour cannot leave the Zone and falls off him as he departs. Back in the Emerald Hill Zone, Sonic meets up with Tails and thanks the fox for giving him some space. He asks what Tails has been up to but, unable to admit the truth, Tails tells Sonic he’s been up to nothing at all.

CREDITS

Writer: Nigel Kitching
Artist: Dave Windett
Letterer: Elitta Fell

Review

The first Sonic the Comic story to star Tails takes a drastic left turn away from what any reader could have possibly expected. Obviously realising there was little point in telling the same kinds of story he could tell with Sonic, writer Nigel Kitching decided to go in completely the opposite direction with Tails. If Sonic was going to be an action adventure strip with robots, Tails would get a high-fantasy swords and sorcery setting! On paper, it sounds absolutely ludicrous but it’s the perfect kind of imaginative use of Mobius’ limitless setting that the paper-thin official story from Sega allowed back in the early 1990s. Who says there can’t be a secret pocket dimension on Mobius? Who says it can’t be high-fantasy? Who says Tails can’t come from there? The beauty of Mobius is it can be anything the writer wants and Kitching clearly understood that very early on, resulting in some wonderful worldbuilding that makes the planet feel all the more alive.

Tails stepping into the starring role for the first time results in a fun little twist. For so long, he’s wanted to impress Sonic that he’s never stopped to think how difficult superheroism actually is. It’s one thing to be the hero’s sidekick, but it’s another entirely to be the only hero present when you have to think on your feet, particularly against an opponent much stronger and more imposing than you. Thus, we get Tails as a reluctant hero. This isn’t a permanent direction for the character as, naturally, he’s able to grow over time to become a competent and confident hero in his own right, particularly under writer Lew Stringer. However, it’s a perfect characterisation for Tails’ earliest adventures. In fact, not only is it a good choice, it’s funny too, with Tails’ protestations seeming all so terribly polite and, dare I say it, quintessentially hard-done-to British.

The Nameless Zone is instantly populated by characters who will go on to prove important in later stories in this setting. The mystical Enchanter Kings’ roles aren’t quite explained here, but it’s clear they are masters of sorcery, which Tails doesn’t even blink at, meaning magic is evidently common at least where he comes from. Trogg is an immediately imposing threat drawn in his hideous glory by Dave Windett. And we even have an early appearance from Errol Blackthorn, though he isn’t named here ahead of his starring role in the next Tails story. The whole world feels very well realised right from the jump.

Windett’s art is a delight, managing to balance the fantastical setting with the frightening Trogg and the charming foxes – what you end up with looks like it wouldn’t be out of place in a fantasy storybook for younger readers, which manages to work really well given Tails’ role as the younger character in the lead hero team.

With this first foray into the Nameless Zone, Kitching and Windett crafted a world which immediately feels like a rich vein to be tapped for storytelling purposes. More than that, however, they ensured Tails’ adventures would have a unique flavour when contrasted against Sonic’s. Even when that flavour changed in later issues, the fact it remained distinct is a testament to how smart that decision was.